Comparing Death In Frankenstein, Green's Looking For Alaska, And
Destructive Search for More Death changes people, causing them to decide that they will not end their lives as their loved one had; to look for something greater in life. This search for something beyond the what they have is often a plot in literature, in Shelley’s Frankenstein, Green’s Looking for Alaska, and Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet. Each of these stories follows a character whose life has been tainted by death’s catastrophic touch, pledging to change their ways for the better and look for something greater than their realm. A common theme in many works of literature is death, it is relatable and everyone runs into death one way or another. Death is certain in every life, so why exclude it from literature? Frankenstein, Looking for
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This is especially true for Pudge in Green’s Looking for Alaska, who is determined to find his “Great Perhaps”, which is his way of phrasing his reason for being. It may seem as though Alaska’s death had not triggered his search for a great perhaps, as Pudge had mentioned it several times before her unfortunate death. However, before her death, “Great Perhaps” were just empty words with no driving force behind it. Alaska’s death pushed Pudge to really start searching for his purpose in life, rather than just questioning his purpose, as shown in his essay of how Alaska had affected him and made him want to be a different person. Death can also lead to a search for a god or other omniscient being, as it did in Hamlet. Hamlet contemplates “to be or not to be” but chooses not to commit suicide due to the possibility of a god punishing him for killing himself. Admittedly, it is possible to not consider this as a search for God, but rather the ravings of a madman. But if this were so, Hamlet would not have contemplated or hesitated to avenge his father’s murder while the murderer was praying. If Hamlet had been sure one way or another of the existence of a godly being, he would have either immediately murdered Claudius or had not even considered it. But, due to his uncertainty, he ponders the consequences of killing a praying man, eventually deciding against doing so. This
This is especially true for Pudge in Green’s Looking for Alaska, who is determined to find his “Great Perhaps”, which is his way of phrasing his reason for being. It may seem as though Alaska’s death had not triggered his search for a great perhaps, as Pudge had mentioned it several times before her unfortunate death. However, before her death, “Great Perhaps” were just empty words with no driving force behind it. Alaska’s death pushed Pudge to really start searching for his purpose in life, rather than just questioning his purpose, as shown in his essay of how Alaska had affected him and made him want to be a different person. Death can also lead to a search for a god or other omniscient being, as it did in Hamlet. Hamlet contemplates “to be or not to be” but chooses not to commit suicide due to the possibility of a god punishing him for killing himself. Admittedly, it is possible to not consider this as a search for God, but rather the ravings of a madman. But if this were so, Hamlet would not have contemplated or hesitated to avenge his father’s murder while the murderer was praying. If Hamlet had been sure one way or another of the existence of a godly being, he would have either immediately murdered Claudius or had not even considered it. But, due to his uncertainty, he ponders the consequences of killing a praying man, eventually deciding against doing so. This